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Friday, November 3, 2000
Stay away from the injury bug
By Barry Melrose
Special to ESPN.com
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Hockey season is upon us. Seems like just yesterday that the Devils hoisted the Stanley Cup in Dallas. To get you all geared up for the season, here are five things to watch for at the beginning of training camp:
1. Injuries
All coaches have nightmares about training camp injuries. You spend the first half of your time worrying if everyone is going to come to camp in shape, and the second half petrified someone might pull a groin or separate a shoulder and be out for six weeks. It's one thing if a player gets hurt during the regular season, at least it's during a game that he contributed to. But losing a player in training camp can be a real killer for a team. If you have to start the first three or four weeks of the season without your best player, you can lose the first seven or eight games and put yourself squarely behind the eight ball.
2. Free agents
There are still a lot of free agents out there. There are a number of talented players still not signed, beginning with Eric Lindros. It'll be interesting to see where a lot of these guys end up. Pay attention during the coming weeks. The posturing, schemes, and deals that get done are often born in training camp.
|  | | Scott Gomez wasn't even expected to stay with the Devils past training camp. |
3. Young guys winning jobs
Each year, there is a guy who makes the team who no one was counting on. Take Scott Gomez last year, for instance. He wasn't supposed to be on the Devils' squad. Gomez was only on the team because Patrik Elias and Brendan Morrison held out; that gave Gomez a chance to play, and he won a job. Morrison didn't get his spot back and was ultimately traded to Vancouver. Young players can come through during camp and surprise in a good or bad way. Rick DiPietro of the Islanders is going to be an interesting story to watch. The Isles are putting their future on a goaltender who hasn't seen a professional shot yet.
4. Old guys losing jobs
On the flip side is guys who lose their jobs. Some players, for whatever physical or mental reasons, are not what they used to be and usually discover that in camp. They'll lose their jobs or will be unable to win a job. It's interesting to watch during camp which of the good, old NHL players still have some gas in the tank and which ones are ready to go out to pasture.
5. Who can jell
Perhaps the most important aspect of training camp is seeing who can jell the fastest. A team can make the playoffs in October just as well as they can make them in April -- which is important to remember coming out of training camp because everyone wants to start quick. If you get off to a hot start in October, it can really set the tone for an entire season. Whichever coach can come out of the box with his team healthy and get the chemistry working between the lines early knows he's got the right foot forward.
Barry Melrose, a former NHL player and coach, is an NHL analyst for ESPN and ABC.
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